U.S. patent application number 13/647455 was filed with the patent office on 2013-02-07 for mobile communication system and mobile terminal.
This patent application is currently assigned to FUJITSU LIMITED. The applicant listed for this patent is FUJITSU LIMITED. Invention is credited to Masaki AKIYAMA.
Application Number | 20130035119 13/647455 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44834077 |
Filed Date | 2013-02-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130035119 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
AKIYAMA; Masaki |
February 7, 2013 |
MOBILE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND MOBILE TERMINAL
Abstract
A mobile communication system is disclosed. An area information
management server sends area information indicating a communicable
peripheral area of a location where a mobile terminal exists, and
out-of-service information indicating outside of an accessible
region, to the mobile terminal. In the mobile terminal, a
generating part generates a moving route and moving projection
information. A planning part makes a plan for communication
execution indicating a communication term in which the mobile
terminal communicates with a base station and an interruption term
in which the mobile terminal is outside of the accessible region,
based on the moving projection information, and the area
information and the out-of-service information. A suspension
indicating part indicates suspending or restarting the
communication of the mobile terminal and a communication partner
before and after the interruption term indicated by the plan. A
communication part communicates with the base station in accordance
with the plan.
Inventors: |
AKIYAMA; Masaki; (Kawasaki,
JP) |
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Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
FUJITSU LIMITED; |
Kawasaki |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
FUJITSU LIMITED
Kawasaki
JP
|
Family ID: |
44834077 |
Appl. No.: |
13/647455 |
Filed: |
October 9, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
PCT/JP2011/058849 |
Apr 7, 2011 |
|
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13647455 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
455/456.6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 28/26 20130101;
H04W 36/32 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/456.6 |
International
Class: |
H04W 4/02 20090101
H04W004/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 20, 2010 |
JP |
2010-097319 |
Claims
1. A mobile communication system, comprising: an area information
management server; and a mobile terminal, wherein the area
information management server is configured to send area
information indicating a communicable peripheral area of a location
where the mobile terminal exists, and out-of-service information
indicating outside of an accessible region, to the mobile terminal;
and the mobile terminal includes a generating part configured to
generate a moving route and moving projection information of the
mobile terminal; a planning part configured to make a plan for
communication execution indicating a communication term in which
the mobile terminal communicates with a base station and an
interruption term which includes a term when the mobile terminal is
outside of the accessible region, based on the moving projection
information, and the area information and the out-of-service
information which are received from the area information management
server; a suspension indicating part configured to indicate
suspending or restarting the communication of the mobile terminal
itself and a communication partner before and after the
interruption term indicated by the plan for the communication
execution; and a communication part configured to communicate with
the base station in accordance with the plan for the communication
execution.
2. The mobile communication system as claimed in claim 1, further
comprising: a management server configured to send effective speed
information indicating an actual communication speed for each of
multiple communication methods in the peripheral area of the
location where the mobile terminal exists, to the mobile terminal
through the base station, wherein the area information management
server sends the area information and the out-of-service
information for each of the multiple communication methods; and the
planning part makes the plan for the communication execution
indicating the communication method and the communication term for
the mobile terminal to communicate with the base station, and the
interruption term for the mobile terminal to interrupt the
communication, based on the moving projection information, the area
information and the out-of-service information for each of the
multiple communication methods, and the effective speed information
for each of the multiple communication methods.
3. The mobile communication system as claimed in claim 2, wherein
the mobile terminal further includes a sending part configured to
send a communication history including time, a location, and an
effective speed of the communication which the mobile terminal
executed; and the management server updates the effective speed
information for each of the multiple communication methods based on
the communication history received from the mobile terminal.
4. The mobile communication system as claimed in claim 3, wherein
the mobile terminal includes an acquisition part configured to
acquire location information of the location where the mobile
terminal exists, and when there is a difference between the
location information and the moving projection information, the
generating part re-generates the moving projection information, and
remakes the plan for the communication execution by using the
moving projection information.
5. A mobile terminal, comprising: a generating part configured to
generate a moving route of the mobile terminal and moving
projection information; a planning part configured to make a plan
for a communication execution indicating a communication term and
an interruption term based on the moving projection information and
area information and out-of-service information which are received
from an area information management server, the communication term
being a term in which the mobile terminal communicates with a base
station, the interruption term including a term when the mobile
terminal is outside of an accessible region and in which a
communication is interrupted, which area information indicates a
communicable peripheral area of a location where the mobile
terminal exists, and which out-of-service information indicates a
location being outside of the accessible region; a suspension
indicating part configured to indicate suspending or restarting the
communication of the mobile terminal itself and a communication
partner before and after the interruption term indicated by the
plan for the communication execution; and a communication part
configured to communicate with the base station in accordance with
the plan for the communication execution.
6. The mobile terminal as claimed in claim 5, wherein the planning
part makes the plan for the communication execution which indicates
a communication method and the communication term in which the
mobile terminal communicates with the base station and the
interruption term in which the communication is interrupted, based
on the moving projection information, the area information for each
of multiple communication methods and the out-of-service
information which are received from the area information management
server, and effective speed information received from a management
server which manages the effective speed information, which area
information for each of multiple communication methods indicates
the communicable peripheral area of the location where the mobile
terminal exists, which out-of-service information indicates the
location being outside of the accessible region.
7. The mobile terminal as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a
sending part configured to send a communication history including
information of time, a location, and an effective speed of the
communication conducted by the mobile terminal.
8. The mobile terminal as claimed in claim 7, further comprising an
acquisition part configured to acquire location information of the
location where the mobile terminal exists, wherein when there is a
difference between the location information and the moving
projection information; the generating part re-generates the moving
projection information; and the planning part remakes the plan for
the communication execution by using the moving projection
information.
9. The mobile communication system as claimed in claim 4, wherein
the mobile terminal includes a detection part configured to detect
a residual capacity of a battery of the mobile terminal, and the
planning part makes the plan for the communication execution by
selecting the communication method depending on the residual
capacity of the battery.
10. The mobile communication system as claimed in claim 9, wherein
the planning part makes the plan for the communication execution by
selecting the communication method being less than or equal to a
communication speed for the mobile terminal.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a U.S. continuation application filed
under 35 USC 111(a) claiming benefit under 35 USC 120 and 365(c) of
PCT application PCT/JP2011/058849, filed on Apr. 7, 2011, which
claims priority to Japanese Patent Application Ser. No.
2010-097319, filed in Japan on Apr. 20, 2010. The foregoing
applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD
[0002] The embodiment discussed herein is related to a mobile
communication system and a mobile terminal.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Recently, various mobile communication services have been
widely used, and service areas have been widely provided. In a
mobile communication system of a Wideband Code Division Multiple
Access (W-CDMA) method, high speed communication services of High
Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and the like have been widely
applied as well as a service of a regular communication speed
(called "regular service"). Also, a wireless Local Area Network
(LAN), which realizes data communication with further high speed,
is widely used. The wireless LAN service is regarded as a service
of a public area, and service areas are scattered.
[0004] A mobile terminal supporting multiple communication services
has mounted communication modules of respective communication
methods for the communication services. In addition, in the
above-described communication services, communication speed becomes
higher with greater power consumption in a sequence of the regular
service, the high speed communication service, and the wireless LAN
service. Thus, the service area becomes smaller.
[0005] In the mobile terminal supporting the multiple communication
services, a communication module supporting the multiple
communication services searches for radio waves and determines
whether communication is possible. It should be noted that in a
case of being outside of communication range, since a random access
outputting radio waves method in all directions is performed within
a short period, the power consumption becomes greater.
[0006] In order to continue the communication in a case in which
the communication is disabled while communicating with a base
station, there is a "handover" method which changes a communication
destination to another base station of the same communication
method as the previous communication method before disabling of the
communication and another "handover" which changes the
communication destination to a base station of a different
communication method from that used before disabling of the
communication. In the "handover" methods, a communicable state with
the communication destination may be always maintained to
immediately switch the base station. As a result, the power
consumption becomes greater. Also, in the latter "handover" method,
communication disconnection may occur. Conventionally, the latter
"handover" method is not conducted.
[0007] In a case in which the mobile terminal is located outside of
the communication range, since the mobile terminal fails the
handover while communicating with a server, after that, even if the
mobile terminal comes back to the communication range, mostly the
mobile terminal does not continue the communication at a service
level. Even in a case in which the communication is possible to be
continued, it may take time to resume the service. The mobile
terminal takes time to detect being outside of the communication
range due to weak radio waves. Since the server does not know a
reason why it becomes impossible for the mobile terminal to
communicate with the server, the server does not detect the
communication disconnection until a time out.
[0008] In a known technology, a current location, a destination, a
departure time, and an arrival time of a train are acquired from an
IC tag of a communication terminal device at a train, and are
transmitted to a base station apparatus. The base station apparatus
estimates time when a user will exist in the service area, based on
a distance from a current location to a service area boundary.
Thus, it is possible to determine with high accuracy the service
which a user is likely to select and successively receives until an
end of the service.
[0009] In another technology, in a mobile terminal capable of
communicating with both a first wireless communication system of a
cellular method which covers a wide area and a second wireless
communication system of a general hot spot method, detailed area
location information of the second wireless communication system
acquired from a base station is stored, and power wasted on area
detection is prevented. Moreover, when communication speed of the
mobile terminal is less than a threshold, communication with the
first wireless communication system is maintained.
Patent Documents
[0010] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2007-81714
[0011] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-320473
SUMMARY
[0012] According to one aspect of the embodiment, there is provided
a mobile communication system, including: an area information
management server; and a mobile terminal, wherein the area
information management server is configured to send area
information indicating a communicable peripheral area of a location
where the mobile terminal exists, and out-of-service information
indicating outside of an accessible region, to the mobile terminal;
and the mobile terminal includes a generating part configured to
generate a moving route and moving projection information of the
mobile terminal; a planning part configured to make a plan for
communication execution indicating a communication term in which
the mobile terminal communicates with a base station and an
interruption term which includes a term when the mobile terminal is
outside of the accessible region, based on the moving projection
information, and the area information and the out-of-service
information which are received from the area information management
server; a suspension indicating part configured to indicate
suspending or restarting the communication of the mobile terminal
itself and a communication partner before and after the
interruption term indicated by the plan for the communication
execution; and a communication part configured to communicate with
the base station in accordance with the plan for the communication
execution.
[0013] The object and advantages of the invention will be realized
and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly
pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that
both the foregoing general description and the following detailed
description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive
of the invention as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an
embodiment of a mobile terminal in a mobile communication
system;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of effective
speed information;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of area
information for each communication method;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a plan of
communication execution;
[0018] FIG. 5 is flowchart for explaining an example of a process
for selecting a communication method;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an
application server;
[0020] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a
configuration of an area information management server for managing
area information for each communication method;
[0021] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a
configuration of a management server for managing effective speed
information;
[0022] FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B are diagrams illustrating an example of
a sequence of a planning process for communication execution;
[0023] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of destination
route information;
[0024] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence
of a communication execution process;
[0025] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence
of a process executed by an area information server receiving
part;
[0026] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence
of a process executed by a management server for the effective
speed information;
[0027] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of
communication history information; and
[0028] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence
of a process executed by a receiving part of an effective speed
server.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0029] In the following, embodiments of the present invention will
be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
<Configuration of Mobile Terminal>
[0030] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an
embodiment of a mobile terminal in a mobile communication system.
In FIG. 1, a control part 11 in a mobile terminal 10 performs
communication by switching a regular communication part 13, a high
speed communication part 14, and a wireless LAN communication part
15 in accordance with a communication execution plan (hereinafter,
may be called "plan") stored in a communication plan DataBase (DB)
12.
[0031] The regular communication part 13 performs wireless
communication with a base station 41 of a regular service of a
Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) method. The high
speed communication part 14 performs wireless communication with a
base station 42 of a high speed communication service of High Speed
Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and the like of the Wideband Code
Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) method. The wireless LAN
communication part 15 performs wireless communication with a base
station 43 of a wireless LAN service. Also, the control part 11 for
switching a communication method sends notices of a "communication
stop" due to being outside of radio wave reception, that is,
outside of an accessible region, and of a "communication restart"
after the "communication stop", to an application communication
control part 16 beforehand. In this specification, an "application"
may be also called an "APP".
[0032] The application communication control part 16 performs
communication with an application server 44 in accordance with a
request of a communication application 17, which request is created
by a user. When the application communication control part 16
receives the notice of the "communication stop" from the control
part 11 for switching the communication method, the application
communication control part 16 sends the notice to the application
server 44 before the communication actually stops. The application
server 44 sets the communication to be in a suspending state and
prepares for the "communication stop". Furthermore, the application
communication control part 16 also sends a notice of the suspending
state to the communication application 17 to transition to a
communication suspending state even at an application level.
[0033] When the application communication control part 16 receives
the notice of the "communication restart" from the control part 11
for switching the communication method, the application
communication control part 16 sends the notice of the
"communication restart" to the application server 44 to set the
communication to be in the restart state. Also, the application
communication control part 16 sends the notice of the
"communication restart" to the communication application 17 to
restart the communication even at the application level. In
addition, the application communication control part 16 determines
line speed for the communication application 17, and supplies the
determined line speed to a planning part 20 for planning a
communication execution. The communication application 17
communicates with the application server 44 on an application
layer.
[0034] Each of the regular communication part 13, the high speed
communication part 14, and the wireless LAN communication part 15
conducts a process of a physical layer. The application
communication control part 16 conducts a process of a network
layer. The communication application 17 conducts a process of an
application layer. When the mobile terminal 10 is outside of the
communication range such as in a tunnel, communications are
disconnected between the communication parts 13, 14, and 15, and
the base stations 41, 42, and 43. Each of the communication
application 17 of the application layer and the application server
44 retains a data sending/receiving process prior to disconnection
of the communication. When the mobile terminal 10 exits from the
tunnel, any one of the regular communication part 13, the high
speed communication part 14, and the wireless LAN communication
part 15 starts the communication with respective base station 41,
42, or 43. After that, each of the communication application 17 and
the application server 44 restarts the data sending/receiving
process being retained.
[0035] In this case, each of the communication application 17 and
the application server 44 knows for which data the data
sending/receiving process has been completed or which data are
retained. It is possible to immediately restart the data
sending/receiving process. Moreover, the communication method when
the data sending/receiving process is restarted may be different
from the communication method prior to retaining the data
sending/receiving process. It is possible to select an optimum
communication method when the data sending/receiving process is
restarted.
[0036] In a case in which the mobile terminal 10 moves outside of
the communication range and the communication is conventionally
disconnected, the communication application 17 of the application
layer and the application server 44 do not recognize each other
until each of them completes sending and receiving the retained
data. After the mobile terminal 10 comes back into the
communication range and the communication is restarted, time is
consumed to ensure from which location data are to be sent or
received.
[0037] A route information acquisition part 21 performs
communication at the application layer with a route search server
48. The route search server 48 is regarded as existing service
which searches for and reports transfer of a train when a
getting-on station name and a getting-off station name are
indicated. The route information acquisition part 21 matches route
information of a train pass with train time table information. The
route information is acquired from an automatic ticket gate 40 when
passing the automatic ticket gate 40 at a station, and is sent to
the route information acquisition part 21 through a pass
information acquisition part 22. The train time table information
is acquired by searching in the route search server 48 by using the
route information. Then, the route information acquisition part 21
creates a movement route and destination route information
indicating passing time and the like as moving projection
information. The destination route information is sent to the
planning part 20 for planning the communication execution.
[0038] Moreover, the route information acquisition part 21
re-creates the destination route information when the planning part
20 requests re-acquiring the destination route information, that
is, when there is a difference between the destination route
information being created and current location information acquired
by a GPS (Global Positioning System) control part 23.
[0039] The pass information acquisition part 22 acquires the route
information of the train pass through the automatic ticket gate 40
when a user of the train pass passes a ticket gate to get on a
train, and supplies the route information to the route information
acquisition part 21.
[0040] The GPS control part 23 periodically acquires location
information from a Global Positioning System (GPS) 45 and supplies
the location information to the control part 11, the planning part
20, and a management part 35 for a movement history. The control
part 11 for switching the communication method utilizes the
supplied location information to create the communication history.
The planning part 20 for the communication execution utilizes the
supplied location information to create a plan for the
communication execution.
[0041] The management part 35 manages past location information as
the movement history. A moving projection part 36 utilizes the
movement history to estimate a movement direction and movement
speed of the mobile terminal 10, and creates the movement route and
information indicating passing time and the like as the moving
projection information of the mobile terminal 10 itself. The moving
projection information is supplied to the planning part 20 for the
communication execution.
[0042] A detection part 24 checks a residual capacity of a battery
of the mobile terminal 10, and sends a notice to the planning part
20 for planning the communication execution when the residual
capacity becomes lower than a threshold.
[0043] An effective speed server 25 communicates with a management
server 46 for effective speed information at the application layer.
A sending part 26 of the effective speed server 25 sends
communication history information stored in a communication history
DB 28 to the management server 46 for the effective speed
information at a constant period. The communication history DB 28
stores the communication history information formed by time
information, the location information, and the effective speed
information.
[0044] The effective speed server 25 sends a query including the
location information of the mobile terminal 10 itself which is
received from the GPS control part 23, from the sending part 26 to
the management server 46 for the effective speed information, and
receives the effective speed information of a peripheral area of a
location where the mobile terminal 10 itself exists, from the
management server 46 by a receiving part 27.
[0045] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the effective speed
information. In FIG. 2, effective speed is 0.5 to 1 Mbps in an area
circled by a solid line A1. The effective speed is less than or
equal to 0.5 Mbps in an area circled by a solid line A2. The
effective speed is 1 to 3 Mbps in an area circled by a solid line
A3. The effective speed is greater than or equal to 10 Mbps in an
area circled by a solid line A4. The effective speed is 3 to 10
Mbps in an area circled by a solid line A5.
[0046] The effective speed information received from the management
server 46 is stored in an effective speed information DB 29. There
is a theoretical maximum communication speed for each communication
method. However, an actual communication speed varies depending on
the number of users and a radio wave state when the mobile terminal
10 is used. Thus, information indicating the actual communication
speed is called "effective speed information".
[0047] An area information server receiving part 31 performs
communication with an area information management server 47 at the
application layer. The area information server receiving part 31
sends a request including the location information of the mobile
terminal 10 received from the GPS control part 23 to the area
information management server 47. The area information server
receiving part 31 receives area information for each communication
method and radio wave out-of-service information for each
communication method of the peripheral area of a location where the
mobile terminal 10 exists, and stores the area information and the
radio wave out-of-service information to an area information DB 32
for storing the area information for each communication method and
an out-of-service information DB 33 for storing radio wave
out-of-service information for each communication method.
[0048] The area information for each communication method indicates
a communicable area for each method. The radio wave out-of-service
information for each communication method indicates an area which
becomes outside of the radio waves, that is, outside of the
accessible region, due to a shielding object such as the tunnel, a
building, or the like. Since locations of the tunnel and the
building are not moved, places being outside of the radio waves are
determined beforehand. Thus, areas being outside of the radio waves
are known.
[0049] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the area information for
each communication method. In FIG. 3, an area circled by a solid
line B1 is regarded as an area of the regular service, an area
circled by a solid line B2 is regarded as an area of the high speed
communication service, and an area circled by a solid line B3 is
regarded as an area of the wireless LAN service.
[0050] The planning part 20 makes a plan of the communication
execution during moving based on the destination route information
(or a moving direction and a moving speed being estimated) acquired
by the route information acquisition part 21, the area information
for each communication method, the radio wave out-of-service
information for each communication method, and the effective speed
information. The planning part 20 stores the plan of the
communication execution in the communication plan DB 12. The plan
of the communication execution is regarded as information formed by
items (1) and (2) described below. Offsets by the items (3) through
(5), which are described below, may be additionally provided,
depending on a situation, in the plan of the communication
execution.
[0051] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the plan of the
communication execution. In FIG. 4, the communication method of the
regular service is used for a connection at time from 20:55 to
21:00. A communication interruption process begins at time between
21:00 and 21:01 since the mobile terminal 10 enters the tunnel and
the communication becomes out of service after one minute. At time
between 21:05 to 21:10, the connection is conducted with the
communication method of the high speed communication service. At
time between 21:10 and 21:15, the connection is conducted with the
communication method of the wireless LAN service. The above
description corresponds to information of the plan of the
communication execution.
[0052] (1) The planning part 20 selects communication methods based
on the area information for each communication method and the
effective speed information, so that the communication is conducted
with the highest speed during moving.
[0053] (2) The communication is interrupted based on the radio
waves out-of-service information for each communication method not
to suddenly disconnect the communication before the radio waves
become out of service.
[0054] (3) The current location information is periodically
acquired from the GPS control part 23. When there is a difference
between the current location information and a plan of the
destination route information, the destination route information is
re-acquired, and the communication execution is re-planned based on
the re-acquired destination route information.
[0055] (4) When the detection part 24 detects that the battery
capacity comes to the end, the communication execution is
re-planned not to select the communication method which consumes
great power.
[0056] (5) Information indicating communication speed for the
communication application 17 is acquired from the application
communication control part 16, and the planning part 20 re-plans
the communication execution not to unnecessarily select a high
speed line which exceeds the communication speed for the
communication application 17.
[0057] A mobile telephone part 34 (FIG. 1) is connected to one of
the regular communication part 13, the high speed communication
part 14, and the wireless LAN communication part 15 by a control of
the control part 11 for switching the communication method, and
conducts a voice communication with the respective base station 41,
42, or 43.
[0058] FIG. 5 is flowchart for explaining an example of a process
for the planning part 20 to select the communication method
depending on the battery capacity which the detection part 24
detects. In FIG. 5, in step S11, the planning part 20 determines
whether the battery capacity is greater than or equal to a first
threshold (which may be 50% or the like) and a current area is the
area of the wireless LAN service. When this condition is satisfied,
the communication method of the wireless LAN service is selected in
step S12.
[0059] On the other hand, the condition of the step S11 is not
satisfied, the planning part 20 for planning the communication
execution determines, in step S13, whether the battery capacity is
greater than or equal to a second threshold (may be 20% or the
like) and the current area is the area of the high speed
communication service. When this condition of the step S13 is
satisfied, the planning part 20 selects the communication method of
the high speed service in step S14.
[0060] When the condition of the step S13 is not satisfied, the
planning part 20 determines whether the current area is the area of
regular service in step S15. When this condition is satisfied, the
planning part 20 selects the communication method of the regular
service in step S16. When the condition of the step S15 is not
satisfied, the planning part 20 terminates this process.
<Configuration of Application Server>
[0061] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a
configuration of the application server 44. In FIG. 6, the
application server 44 includes a communication application 51 and
an application communication control part 52. The application
communication control part 52 conducts the following process when
communicating with the application communication control part 16 of
the mobile terminal 10. The application communication control part
52 prepares for the communication stop by setting the communication
to be in the suspending state when the notice of the communication
stop is supplied from the application communication control part 16
of the mobile terminal 10. Also, the notice of the communication
stop is sent to the communication application 51, to transition to
the suspending state at the application level.
[0062] Moreover, when the notice of the communication restart is
received from the application communication control part 16 of the
mobile terminal 10, the application communication control part 52
sets the communication to be in the restart state. Also, the notice
of the communication restart is sent to the communication
application 51 to restart the communication at the application
level. By the above processes, it is possible to make time shorter
when the communication is not available due to being outside of the
radio waves.
<Configuration of Area Information Management Server for Each
Communication Method>
[0063] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a
configuration of the area information management server 47. In FIG.
7, the area information management server 47 for managing the area
information for each communication method includes an area
information server distribution part 53, an area information DB 54
for managing the area information for each communication method,
and an out-of-service information DB 55 for managing the
out-of-service area concerning the radio waves for each
communication method.
[0064] The area information for each communication method is stored
beforehand in the area information DB 54. The area information
indicates areas where each communication method is available. The
out-of-service information for each communication method is stored
beforehand in the out-of-service information DB 55. The
out-of-service information indicates areas where the radio waves
become out of service due to the shielding object such as the
tunnel, the building, or the like. The area information server
distribution part 53 sends the mobile terminal 10 being an request
originator, the area information for each communication method
concerning the peripheral area of a location where the mobile
terminal 10 exists and the out-of-service information concerning
the radio waves for each communication method in response to a
request of the mobile terminal 10.
<Configuration of Effective Speed Information Management
Server>
[0065] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a
configuration of the management server 46 for effective speed
information. In FIG. 8, the management server 46 includes an
effective speed server 56 and an effective speed information DB 59.
The effective speed server 56 aggregates communication history
received from each of the mobile terminals 10 by a receiving part
57, that is, time, the location information, and the effective
speed, creates the effective speed information for each area and
each communication method, and stores the effective speed
information to the effective speed information DB 59 for each area
and each communication method. The effective speed server 56 reads
out the effective speed information of a peripheral area of a
location where the mobile terminal 10 exists, in response to a
request from the mobile terminal 10, and sends the effective speed
information of the peripheral area to the mobile terminal 10 being
a request originator.
<Sequence of Planning Process for Communication
Execution>
[0066] FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B are diagrams illustrating an example of
a sequence of the planning process for the communication execution.
In FIG. 9A, when passing automatic ticket gate 40 at a station, the
pass information acquisition part 22 reads out the route
information and sends the route information to the route
information acquisition part 21 (steps S21 and S22). The route
information acquisition part 21 matches the route information of
the train pass with the train time table information acquired by
searching in the route search server 48, creates the destination
route information including information of the moving route and
time, and sends the destination route information to the planning
part 20 (step S23).
[0067] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the
destination route information. In FIG. 10, the mobile terminal 10
moves from Tokyo station to Kokkai-gijido-mae station by a subway
from time at 20:55 to time at 21:01. The mobile terminal 10 moves
from Kokkai-gijido-mae station to Yoyogi-uehara station by a subway
from time 21:05 to time 21:17. The mobile terminal 10 further moves
from Yoyogi-uehara station to Shimo-kitazawa station from time at
21:17 to time at 21:20.
[0068] The GPS control part 23 sends the current location
information acquired from the GPS 45 to the planning part 20 (step
S24). In addition, the area information for each communication
method, out-of-service information of the radio waves for each
communication method, and the effective speed information are read
out respectively from the area information 33, the out-of-service
information DB 32, and the effective speed information DB 29, and
are supplied to the planning part 20 (steps S25, S26, and S27).
[0069] The planning part 20 for the communication execution makes a
plan of the communication execution during moving based on the
current location information, the destination route information,
the area information for each communication method, the
out-of-service information of the radio waves for each
communication method, and the effective speed information, and
stores the plan in the communication plan DB 12 (steps S28 and
S29).
[0070] A loop process is performed in next steps S30 through S40 in
FIG. 9B. The GPS control part 23 sends the current location
information acquired from the GPS 45 to the planning part 20 for
the communication execution (step S31). The planning part 20
determines whether there is a difference between the route
information and the current location information (step S32). When
there is the difference, the planning part 20 sends the route
information of the train pass and the current location information
to the route information acquisition part 21 (step S33), and
receives new destination route information from the route
information acquisition part 21 (step S34). On the other hand, when
there is no difference between the route information and the
current location information, the planning part 20 advances to step
S37.
[0071] The planning part 20 makes a new plan for the communication
execution based on the current location information, the
destination route information, the area information for each
communication method, the out-of-service information of the radio
waves for each communication method, and the effective speed
information, and stores the new plan in the communication plan DB
12 (steps S35 and S36). After that, the planning part 20 determines
whether the mobile terminal 10 arrives at a destination (step S37).
When the mobile terminal 10 arrives at the destination, the
planning part 20 terminates this process.
<Sequence of Communication Execution Process>
[0072] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a
communication execution process. In FIG. 11, the control part 11
for switching the communication method reads out the plan of the
communication execution from the communication plan DB 12 (step
S41), and conducts the communication by switching one of the
regular communication part 13, the high speed communication part
14, and the wireless LAN communication part 15 in accordance with
the plan of the communication execution (step S42). Furthermore,
when the communication stop is indicated by the plan of the
communication execution, the control part 11 for switching the
communication method indicates to the application communication
control part 16 to stop the communication (step S43). By this
process, the application communication control part 16 executes a
suspending process (in other words, the communication interruption
process), and instructs the application server 44 to stop the
communication (step S44).
[0073] Moreover, when the communication restart is indicated by the
plan of the communication execution, the control part 11 for
switching the communication method instructs the application
communication control part 16 to restart the communication (step
S45). By this process, the application communication control part
16 executes a restart process (in other words, a communication
restart process), and instructs the application server 44 to
restart the communication (step S46).
<Process Sequence of Area Information Server Receiving Part for
Each Communication Method>
[0074] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence
of a process executed by the area information server receiving part
31. The area information server receiving part 31 receives the area
information for each communication method and the out-of-service
information of the radio waves for each communication method from
the area information management server 47, and stores the area
information and the out-of-service information in the area
information DB 33 and the out-of-service information DB 32,
respectively.
<Process Sequence of Sending Part of Management Server for
Effective Speed Information>
[0075] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence
of a process executed by the management server 46 for the effective
speed information. The sending part 26 of the effective speed
server 25 sends the communication history information stored in the
communication history DB 28 to the management server 46 for the
effective speed information at the constant period. An example of
the communication history information is illustrated in FIG. 14. In
FIG. 14, the communication history information includes information
of a communication location (latitude and longitude), a
communication method, the effective speed, a communication time,
and the like.
[0076] The management server 46 for the effective speed information
cumulatively stores the communication history information sent from
a plurality of the mobile terminals 10. The management server 46
calculates an average value of the effective speed for each area
and each communication method at intervals of predetermined time
(step S51). Thus, the management server 46 calculates the effective
speed for each area by corresponding to a map (step S52), and
stores the calculated effective speed as the effective speed
information as illustrated in FIG. 2 in the effective speed
information DB 59.
[0077] The effective speed information DB 59 stores the effective
speed information for each area and each communication method for
each time for each date, and updates the effective speed
information for each area and each communication method for each
time for each date based on the effective speed calculated in step
S52.
<Process Sequence of Receiving Part of Effective Speed
Server>
[0078] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence
of a process executed by the receiving part 27 of the effective
speed server 25. The receiving part 27 of the effective speed
server 25 receives the effective speed information (FIG. 2) related
to the peripheral area of a location where the mobile terminal 10
exists, and stores the effective speed information to the effective
speed information DB 29.
<Modification>
[0079] In FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, the communication execution is
planned based on the route information of the train pass.
Alternatively, in the planning part 20 for the communication
execution, the communication execution may be planned based on an
estimated moving direction and an estimated moving speed which are
supplied from the moving projection part 36.
[0080] The moving projection part 36 estimates the moving direction
and the moving speed from the current location of the mobile
terminal 10 itself based on passed location information stored in
the management part 35 for the movement history. The estimated
moving direction and the estimated moving speed are supplied to the
planning part 20 for the communication execution. The planning part
20 makes a plan for the communication execution during moving based
on the estimated moving direction, the estimated moving speed, the
area information for each communication method, the out-of-service
information of the radio waves for each communication method, and
the effective speed information, and stores information of the plan
in the communication plan DB 12. In a case of applying this
variation, the communication execution process may be performed as
illustrated in FIG. 11.
[0081] According to the embodiment described above, it is possible
to overcome the following problems of a mobile communication system
in the related art. In the related art, in a case in which a mobile
terminal performs mobile communication by an arbitrary one of three
communication methods for the regular, high speed, and wireless LAN
communications, when the mobile terminal enters outside of the
accessible region and communication is disconnected, re-connection
is attempted by one of two other communication methods. However, it
is not aware of when each of three communication methods becomes
inside of a service region (available) and when each of three
communication methods becomes outside of the service region
(unavailable). After the communication is disconnected, the radio
waves are searched for by the two other communication methods. The
communication is conducted by a communication method for which the
radio waves are detected. During the communication, the
communication method is not switched to another method.
[0082] Accordingly, it takes time to re-connect, and power is
consumed to search for the radio waves available for one of the
communication methods. Even if the radio waves for a further high
speed communication method are found during the communication, the
communication method is not switched. Thus, a chance of high speed
communication may be lost.
[0083] Moreover, when the train enters a tunnel and the mobile
terminal in the communication is outside of the communication
range, the mobile terminal successively searches for the radio
waves for the three communication methods until the communication
becomes available. Thus, power of the mobile terminal is consumed.
In addition, at a server side of a communication partner, it takes
time to detect a communication disconnection due to a timeout.
[0084] According to the embodiment, it is possible to provide a
mobile communication system which realizes a re-connection in
shorter time when the mobile terminal is outside of the accessible
region.
[0085] All examples and conditional language recited herein are
intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in
understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the
inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being
without limitation to such specifically recited examples and
conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the
specification relate to a showing of the superiority and
inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the
present invention have been described in detail, it should be
understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations
could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of
the invention.
* * * * *